“You had every opportunity to tell the police about this when you made your statement just after the incident - but you failed to mention it.”

Mr Deary insisted he had mentioned this to the police on numerous occasions.

He admitted loud music had been playing in the house that night but said he was asleep when Ledsham turned up and started fighting with Mr Cooper.

A registered alcoholic, he confirmed he’d drunk “about 15 cans” of Carlsberg earlier in the night and only woke up when he heard screams that Mr Cooper had been stabbed.

Another witness, Gemma Brookfield, who was 17 at the time of the incident, told the jury she had visited the Deary house to listen to music and socialise and had been standing in the doorway as Ledsham and Mr Cooper started fighting.

Sobbing as she gave evidence, she said it was all “a blur”.

She confirmed Anthony had gone outside to confront Ledsham.

She nodded as Mr Bentham asked: “There was screaming, the dogs were barking furiously and Anthony was swearing at Kenneth, wasn’t he?”

She also replied ‘Yes’ when he suggested: “Anthony’s attitude was, in short, that Kenneth had a cheek coming round criticising or complaining about music, wasn’t it?